EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi PM Abadi on elections, corruption and Kurdistan

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has insisted that the general elections will go ahead as planned, calling it a “constitutional commitment” that should be fulfilled.

Abadi, speaking on the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May, “regardless of the results, our goal is to form a professional team” away from the quota system, which defines the ethnic representation in the Iraqi governance system.

In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya’s General Manager Turki al-Dakhil, the prime minister said the political process should rely “on the basis of citizenship,” pointing to the ongoing political change happening in Iraq, and how its influencing Iraqis to reject the “sectarian logic”.

Abadi also spoke of his relationship with his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki, and the impact it had on the Islamic Dawa party. He said during the interview that the recent differences between the Dawa Party was because of al-Maliki’s refusal of Abadi running for elections on the party’s list, resulting with the party being left of the list of those participating in the upcoming vote.

“The majority of the Dawa Party supported me, but Maliki wanted the party to be with him,” Abadi said.